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The OSKIS - 2008 Award Winners
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The 5th annual OSKIS Student Leadership Awards program was held on May 1st, 2008, in Pauley Ballroom. The event is sponsored by the Center for Student Leadership and the Associated Students of the University of California Berkeley (ASUC). Twenty-seven (27) student organizations and individuals were recognized for their successes both on-campus and off-campus for exemplary leadership and service.
The individuals and groups listed below, selected from many wonderful nominees, represent the diverse ways in which students lead by example and contribute so much of themselves to the UC Berkeley community and beyond. (Scroll down for award details)
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Click the each award to view more information about the winners!
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Kenneth Priestly Award
Rachel Luna - Rachel’s leadership extends across the campus – from her roles as a Study Strategies Peer Mentor and Coordinator & Discussion Leader for English 95 in the Student Learning Center, her work with the Cal Leadership Symposium team, her involvement as a Counselor Intern Trainer for the California Association of Student Councils and finally as the Dean of Students Liaison. Rachel’s impact on the campus community cannot be put into words, but I will certainly try. She has dedicated her time at Cal to providing support and advice to her fellow students in multiple ways. “Her ability to communicate with others with diverse personality, thinking, and learning styles contributes to her effective leadership. She demonstrates outstanding insight and acumen, yet carries herself in a humble way.” Nominated by four individuals from different areas of campus, Rachel has been described as a student who stands out from the rest.
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Winged Helmet Awards
Meng So - As a first generation college student, Meng came to Cal determined to give back to his community and to ensure that other students, particularly students of color from low-income neighborhoods, knew about college opportunities. Meng has fulfilled this goal by serving as a Resident Advisor for the Summer Bridge Program, a Peer Advisor Coordinator for Student Life Advising Services, and a Literacy Tutor and a Student Director for the BUILD Tutoring Program. Meng’s nominator wrote that she “strongly believes the work he does each day and his inherent, steadfast commitment to building student community here on campus and promoting educational opportunity outside of it, have made a real difference.”
Hao Feng - Hao has dedicated considerable time and energy to many entities on campus: the Californians, Regents' and Chancellors' Scholars Association, the Molecular and Cell Biology Undergraduate Affairs Office, the Center Leadership Advisory Board, the Blueprint Leadership Development Program, and Immunology Research. One of Hao's two nominators noted that his "vision has helped to enhance the Cal community considerably through his leadership and mentorship of other students. He exemplifies the work of a young, enthusiastic, and energetic student who cares about his fellow students and the university community he so much adores."
Jude Paul Matias Dizon - Jude “actively contributes to the development and empowerment of student of color communities on campus” through his involvement in Pilipino Academic Student Services, the third world Liberation Front, and the bridges Multicultural Resource Center. Additionally, Jude has co-facilitated a Pilipino Community De-Cal course, worked as a Resident Assistant, and interned at the UC Berkeley Labor Center/Filipinos for Affirmative Action, among many other things. A nominator of Jude stated that he is a “prime example of an individual who thinks critically of the communities he is part of and takes an active role to find ways to circumvent or provide solutions to the struggles and obstacles many communities of color face. Jude’s work and passion comes from his desire to see progressive change.
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ASUC Program of the Year
Peace Not Prejudice Coalition
ASUC Member of the Year
Jillian Hagen
ASUC Elected Official of the Year
Danielle Duong
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OSKIs Student Leadership Awards
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Dean’s Award for Inclusion
Nadir bin Naveed Shams – Nadir has been trying to encourage inclusion during his past four years at Cal. Collaborating with other individuals and organizations, he has sought to bring together students, faculty, staff, and the Berkeley community. As an ASUC Senator, the recipient’s open, genuine, and supportive attitude allows him to work with a diverse group of individuals and organizations. Most notably, the recipient was a key leader in the organization of the “Peace Not Prejudice Coalition” which brought together 20 community and student organizations from various religious, political, and ethnic backgrounds to organize alternative events as a response to another organization’s Islamo-Facism events.
bridges Coalition - Established in 1997, this organization has led many outreach efforts, including shadow days, transfer days, mentorships, student outreach trips, and, most notably, Senior Weeked. In collaboration with the Office of Undergraduate Education, Senior Weekend brings around 600 admitted high school senior to Cal for a three (or four) day experience of what it’s like to be a student at Cal. bridges includes all student recruitment and retention centers on campus, including REACH!, Raza, the Black Recruitment and Retention Center, the Native American Recruitment & Retention Center, Pilipino Academic Student Services, and Mixed Student Union.
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Sustainability Award
Berkeley Green Campus - Berkeley Green Campus is an organization that has demonstrated how energy and sustainability are integral to the welfare of our society through their initiation of various programs on campus. Dedicated to educating students, staff, faculty, and the local community on the importance of energy conservation, this organization has coordinated events such as the Blackout Battles energy competition between residence halls, the Shut the Sash fume hood campaign, and the Haas Energy Challenge. Additionally, Berkeley Green Campus facilitates two energy-related DeCal courses in order to reach out to more students. Participants in one of the courses even learn how to conduct lighting and energy audits.
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Student Organization Advisor of the Year
Janice Crowder – Janice has dedicated several years to advising the ASUC student government while leaving an impression on all students she encounters. Her thorough knowledge of organizational history and ability to serve as a resource to incoming and continuing organization members makes her one of the most valued staff within her department.
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Golden Circle of Outstanding Student Leaders
Jeffrey Manassero- He has organized several events, including an LGBT student leadership retreat, a scholarship workshop at Berkeley High School for LGBT students who are applying for LGBT scholarships, and the “Right to Give Life” blood drive, which raises awareness of the FDA policy that bans blood donations from men who have sex with men. The nomination statement for this individual noted that he is a dynamic and committed leader with skills and personality that “poise him with incredible potential for extraordinary achievement.”
Lindsay Harris- She co-chairs the Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights, serves on the Board of the Boalt Hall Women’s Association, is the Symposium Editor for the Berkeley Journal of International Law, and is the chair of the California Asylum Representation Clinic (CARC), “an organization that has grown exponentially under the recipient’s leadership to provide 90 first year law students with the life-changing experience of representing an asylum seeker. The recipient is also a GSI for an undergraduate PACS Human Rights class, in which she has become a mentor to many of her students. Being a law student, and being involved in these numerous roles, she still finds time to support her fellow students on a day-to-day basis.
Seyron Foo- has contributed greatly to several organizations and groups on campus, including the Asian Political Association, Cal Queer & Asian, the Student Advisory Council for Undergraduate Education, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on LGBT Issues at Cal, and New Student Services. In his role as a CalSO counselor, this individual was dedicated and diligent, working hard to meet the needs of all of his counselees. Impressed with his performance as a CalSO counselor, he was recruited to coordinate Berkeley’s Overnight Host Program, which seeks to bring low-income, first generation students admitted to Cal to visit the University. Bringing a new energy to his position and successfully building relationships with partners across campus, this individual has decided to continue working with New Student Services to redesign the program to serve more students and better address campus diversity.
Travis Garcia- founder of the “Hillary Clinton for President ’08 – Berkeley Chapter, contributing writer to the Daily Cal, and Lobby Day Group Leader & Speaker. Most notably, this individual has worked the past 18 plus months to maintain what is now one of the most active and successful LGBT student organizations on campus, Sigma Epsilon Omega. His nominator stated that he was “impressed with his leadership capabilities, commitment to social justice, and congeniality.” After observing him in numerous leadership situations, the nominator noted the recipient’s ability “to communicate effectively, listen attentively, and respond appropriately have won him the admiration and respect of students and staff alike.”
Maryl Kunkel-For the past several years, she has co-coordinated the majority of the logistics for the Blueprint Leadership Development Program, ran the Lead for Change workshop series, and contributed in many other “behind the scenes” ways to bring additional programs together. Working as both a CalSO Counselor for New Student Services and as a Student Leadership Coordinator in the Center for Student Leadership, this person has been able to continually learn more about leadership and apply it to her past, present and future, both within the workplace, and out. She used new knowledge gained this year to design an environmental leadership curriculum. Additionally, she started the Center Leadership Advisory Board, which provides Blueprint Leadership Development Program students with opportunities to put what they are learning in the program into practice. She has made the transition from facilitator to coach, transferring her knowledge and expertise to those around her. There is no doubt that this person has left her own legacy at Cal through her significant contributions
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Outstanding Student Organizations
Eggster – Bringing together corporations, local businesses, UC Berkeley alumni and students, and Bay Area community members, Eggster coordinates a free annual event which is open to all families. Specifically, this event is geared toward the disabled and socio-economically disadvantaged youth of the Bay Area and aims to provide these children with a fun and educational experience through learning booths, student organization performances, and egg hunts. Not only do members of Eggster participate in the coordination and implementation of their annual event, they also get the opportunity to volunteer with the recipient’s three youth-oriented non-profit partner organizations and learn valuable skills, such as grant proposal writing, time management, public speaking, and effective group communication.
Cal Berkeley Habitat for Humanity - Beginning in the Spring of 1999, Cal Berkeley Habitat for Humanity has been trying to support affordable housing in the community. Since then, the organization has grown to over 300 members and has established relationships with local housing organizations, shelters, soup kitchens, and three other nearby affiliate groups in order to address housing needs in the Bay Area. This year alone, the organization has raised a total of $25,000 in their effort to fully sponsor their first home in Oakland.
Asian Business Association - in the past 30 years, ABA has become “a well-respected organization within and beyond the Berkeley campus, representative of a diversity of majors and cultures.” Each semester, this 181-member organization hosts over 35 events, which focus on career development, community building, and philanthropy. This year they hosted their 11th Annual Charity Fashion Show that raised over $3,000 for the Save the Cambodian Children Fund and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, in which 110 volunteers provided tax services to low-income Oakland residents.
Student Organization of the Year
Magnolia Project- The recipient of this year’s award is a student-initiated organization that formed in the Spring of 2007 “to spread awareness, educate, and provide UC Berkeley’s staff, students, and faculty with an avenue to both physically participate in the reconstruction process, and organize to tackle the political challenges the disenfranchised and underprivileged communities of New Orleans were facing.” Last May, the group organized 86 student volunteers to spend three weeks in New Orleans, providing approximately 8,000 hours of service. While in the Gulf Coast region, they renovated damaged schools, gutted and rebuilt houses, work at a local food bank, developed websites for local non-profits and conducted community-based research for the local Head Start program. “This organization’s summer service project is a critical aspect of student engagement in the Gulf Coast, as well as an effective service-learning program that not only educates the campus community, but also empowers them to recognize injustice and take initiative towards change.” After their initial service trip, the group returned to campus and coordinated a number of educational events about the struggles Gulf Coast residents continue to face. These events included a Commemoration Event for the 2nd Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, photo exhibits, and at least six campus-wide dialogues. Additionally, this organization has made a ten-year commitment to aid the region in its rebuilding process.
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Outstanding Student Organization Events
Outstanding Social Event: Dance Marathon- First debuting in 2005, this “12-hour long dance-until-you-drop canned food drive brings together students from many different areas of campus, including the ASUC, Resident Assistants, SUPERB, and CalGreeks, just to name a few, to raise money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Since its first year, this event has raised close to $60,000! In order to be successful in raising these kinds of funds, event organizers have had to ensure that they are balancing the education and fundraising with fun – food, music, bounce houses, video games, trivia, and glow bracelets all contribute to making this social event a major success!
Outstanding Educational Event: Residential Service Community & Residence Hall Association for the Roll ‘N Shoot: Wheelchair Basketball Tournament!– Although “Berkeley is considered to be the birthplace of the disability rights and independent living movement”, the “campus lacks adaptive physical education programs and hence fails to meet the needs of our disabled student population. This event, a wheelchair basketball tournament for able-bodied students, was created to help address this overlooked gap between UC Berkeley and disability sports.” In addition to creating awareness, this event also sought to raise funds for the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP), “which is the only Bay Area wheelchair sports organization.” In its first year, this event boasted 130 participants, each of which learned how to play wheelchair basketball, 30 volunteers, and 20 BORP athletes, which contributed to a total of $4753 raised for the benefiting organization, well exceeding the organizers’ goal.
Outstanding Culture Event: Activism Right There- brought together people across causes, backgrounds, generations, and campus affiliation in the spirit of using art as a medium of expression and empowerment. With the overall goal of providing a space for student voice and art, this free event attracted 2,000 attendees which walked away inspired about their various causes, concerns, and missions. Student poets, musicians, and dancers led the entertainment component, and a panel on the history of Activism at Cal through the decades offered an educational and stimulating twist. CalSlam and many other contributing organizations, coordinated and contributed to the success of this event.
Outstanding Service Event: Berkeley Poetry Review for Poetry After the Storm- brought together campus literary publications, socially conscious arts groups, and 12 notable performers in November of 2007 to hold a landmark multimedia poetry event attended by over 600 people in order to raise money for New Orleans Schools & Libraries. Fueled by the events following Hurricane Katrina’s presence in the US Gulf Coast and New Orleans, a coalition of student and community organizations addressed the “devastated intellectual infrastructure of New Orleans that [is in need] of radical relief assistance.” Additionally, this event was “dedicated to educating the Cal community about the rich historical and contemporary importance of black history in New Orleans and how it relates to the Cal community and creating a safe environment in which students can address racial, social, and minority issues through dialogue and art without fear of persecution.”
Student Organization Event of the Year
Leadership Symposium Planning Committee (8th Annual Leadership Symposium) – This annual one-day conference features speakers, educational workshops, and networking opportunities as it seeks to provide students with essential tools to be agents of positive social change and leaders on campus and in their communities. This year, nearly 500 students from Cal and other Bay Area colleges participated in this event, which featured over 45 educational sessions. Planned mainly by 16 hard-working student leaders, this event is becoming a signature leadership conference in the Bay Area community. In the coming years, the planning team hopes to take the event to the national level, and turn it into one of the most recognized and reputable leadership conferences in the country.
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Emerging Student Leader
Maggie Dunbar - has taken initiative to learn more about leadership and herself through multiple involvement opportunities, including the Blueprint Leadership Development Program, Dean’s TEAM, and Theater for Charity. She has proactively chosen experiences that will aid her own growth and development, while never losing sight of her peers and community. The recipient’s nominator noted that “she never settles and is always looking for {opportunities} that she can put her newfound knowledge to work in ways that will serve others.”
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Emerging Student Organization
Team HBV - currently the only student-run, non-profit, collegiate organization in the United States that addresses the high incidence of hepatitis B (HBV) and liver cancer in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community. Their mission is to implement community, global, and political outreach to promote education, advocacy, screening, and vaccination for HBV in the US and abroad. The organization attributes its success thus far to a strong commitment of developing collaborative relationships with university and community partners, including the Tang Center, Fashion and Student Trends, and Californian State Assemblywoman Fiona Ma.Through these partnerships, the organization has completed many successful outreach efforts, such as a letter writing campaign for the National HBV Bills in Congress, hosting documentary screenings, attending health fairs and conference, creating video public service announcements, and co-hosting the Rock the Jade Charity Fashion Show.
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